In Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, the Ottawa Senators’ line of Milan Michalek, Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky combined for three goals and four assists.

In 17 games since the arrival of Hemsky from the Edmonton Oilers, the three have delivered 17 goals and 29 assists.

Impressive, right?

Now imagine the very real possibility that not one, not two, but all three could be gone and playing elsewhere next season.

While it makes for an intriguing fan discussion as the Senators close out their thoroughly disappointing season with home games against New Jersey Thursday and Toronto Saturday, followed by a finale in Pittsburgh Sunday, it amounts to the trickiest of summer subjects for general manager Bryan Murray.

As impressive as the trio is inside opponents’ blue lines, capable of controlling the puck for extended periods and creating nightmares for defencemen and goaltenders, the reverse is often true when they’re inside their own zone. They’re often caught chasing the puck, putting pressure on their own defence as well as goaltenders Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner.

When everything is stripped away and the Senators take a hard look at what went so wrong, ultimately it boils down to allowing far too many goals and too many shots. The Senators have allowed 262 goals, tied with the Islanders for last in the league in goals against per game. The Senators have also given up 34.9 shots per game, ahead of only their Battle of Ontario friends in Toronto (35.9), who have also been eliminated from playoff contention.

The arrival of Hemsky and the formation of the big line hasn’t changed much. Since he has been here, the Senators have been outscored 60-54 and they’ve allowed 40-plus shots nine times, including in the victories over the Islanders Tuesday and the New York Rangers Saturday.

It’s certainly unfair to lay all of the above at the skates of one line (there’s plenty of blame to be shared by the rest of the forwards, the defence and the goalies), but if the organization is going to make a bold statement, it could start here. Alternate captain Chris Phillips said earlier this week that the summer will be a search for answers.

The organization is at a crossroads. There’s huge money involved when talking about the future of the three, an even bigger deal here than in most organizations, because Senators owner Eugene Melnyk doesn’t spend close to the salary cap.

Michalek and Hemsky are pending unrestricted free agents. Their strong, late-season offensive surges — Michalek has seven goals and five assists and Hemsky has four goals and 12 assists since his arrival from Edmonton — will help them shop themselves in the search for lucrative, longer-term contracts, either in Ottawa or somewhere else.

Spezza, meanwhile, is heading into the final season of his seven-year, $49 million contract. The salary cap hit is $7 million, but his actual salary in 2014-15 is $4 million. It’s standard practice in NHL circles to give star players an extension before their final year. After the Daniel Alfredsson departure, the Senators can’t risk losing another captain for nothing. If Spezza wants to stay, a tough negotiation is in order.

If, however, he’s willing to consider waiving his no-trade clause, Murray will explore the possibility of trading him away, providing he can receive a quality, proven NHL player and a draft pick in return. For all the criticism Spezza receives, he has always been a potential game-changer, one of the NHL’s best players on the power play. He has also been a more commanding offensive presence in the second half of the season. For a team on the cusp of being a Stanley Cup contender, he could be the ideal addition. In a perfect world, the Senators would be able to secure the first-round draft pick they lost in the Bobby Ryan trade last summer.

The operative word is “if.”

Should all that come to pass, Murray is in a position to dramatically re-structure the lineup, bringing in a two-way forward or two. The team could try and push Mark Stone into a full-time role on a top line, and perhaps leave open a forward spot in training camp in the hopes that prospects Curtis Lazar and Matt Puempel could become NHL regulars.

Unquestionably, additional pressure would land on the shoulders of Kyle Turris, Clarke MacArthur and Ryan, who is also heading into the final year of his contract. But in the first half of the season, it was their offence that carried the team.

Possibly, the Senators could also shore up their defensive situation by adding a solid, stay-at-home veteran defenceman through a Spezza trade. That, of course, is easier said than done. When teams have them, they don’t part with them easily, because, as the Senators have shown, it’s a gamble to force inexperienced defencemen into playing big minutes too quickly.

Of course, none of the above could be done easily. Yet after such a frustrating season, nothing should be easy. There need to be tough questions asked, and tough decisions need to be made.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Sports Highlights

OAK0SFG03:05 PM

PHI3NYY1Top 7 Inning

TOR4PIT7Bottom 5 Inning

BOS1NEASTERN0Top 7 Inning

BOS0BOSTONCOLL0GAME 2

MIA7MIAFLA0Top 6 Inning

DET11BAL0Top 5 Inning

ARI005:10 PM

CIN0CLE03:05 PM

CHA0LAL07:00 PM

CLE0BOS07:00 PM

ATL0HOU07:30 PM

CHI0WAS08:00 PM

MEM0UTA08:00 PM

DEN0MIL09:00 PM

NYK0SAC07:00 PM

NJD0NAS07:00 PM

PHI0CAL07:00 PM

CLB0WAS07:00 PM

TAM0BUF07:30 PM

FLA0TOR07:30 PM

MIN0OTT08:00 PM

DAL0NYI08:30 PM

ARI0ANA09:00 PM

EDM0LOS09:30 PM

VAN0SJS010:00 PM

Video

Classified

Stories, pictures and tributes to life. View and place obituaries, and more.

Share the joy. Tell the world. Read and place announcements here.

Buy, sell and trade smarter.

Find the job you want in your city. View and place job listings, and more.